


...And Help Me

by Nothing_can_last_forever



Series: Remember Me... [5]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt Barry, Multi, Protective Oliver
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-22
Updated: 2017-07-22
Packaged: 2018-11-17 07:07:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11270511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nothing_can_last_forever/pseuds/Nothing_can_last_forever
Summary: Sequel to ...And Protect Me From Myself, Please. After the teams find out about Barry's tendencies, they do everything in their power to help him in and outside the fields of work.





	1. Family

**Author's Note:**

> Major fluff and comfort in the story, with lots of love going towards Barry.

Barry sits with his arms crossed, glare intensifying as Iris stares him down. Ever since they had found out that Barry was self-harming, bulimic, depressed and suicidal, the teams had ganged up on the speedster and now were taking turns in looking after him. Now, Iris, carrying plates full of food for her foster brother, had the doors to the bathrooms and outside locked tight. She pushes the plates towards Barry only for some of the food to be flicked back at her. Growling, she nearly snarls at him before calming down. It isn’t really his fault, but he needs to communicate.   
Leaving the plates alone for the moment, Iris sits next to Barry, ignoring the way he flinches away from her. He had been doing that a lot, not recognising that they were only trying to help him. Grabbing his hand she pulls the shaking man closer to her. Wrapping her arms around Barry, she rocks the two of them, hushing the hero as he softly cries. The crying was not a regular thing, only happening when he was having a bad day or was getting himself worked up. Letting him cry, she feels the tears fall from her own eyes. Everyone felt so bad that they hadn’t recognised that Barry was not okay, but had ignored the signs and carried on like everything was alright. Letting Barry stop by himself, Iris tells Barry he needs to talk.   
“Iris…It’s too much, why is there so much? Really, I don’t need to eat all of that, I’m fine.” Barry’s voice is hitched, falling and heightening in pitch as he goes on, telling her that he doesn’t want to eat that much food. Iris sat still for a moment, before smiling. He had made more progress in those ten minutes than he had in ten days. Still smiling, she drags Barry into the kitchen, the grumbling speedster groaning at her. Getting him to sit on the bench, Iris brings out the blender and necessary ingredients for a smoothie. Barry looks at her in confusion as she drops fruit into the blender, along with yoghurt and Cisco’s new protein powder made with extra calories and nutrients. Letting it mix, Iris plays with her engagement ring while talking to Barry.   
She was still mad that Barry hadn’t told her that he was bisexual, with them being best friends, but she was happy that he had found someone. Oliver had gone back to Star City for a few days, leaving his boyfriend in the care of his family. Joe, Team Flash, Eddie and now Iris had all taken turns in feeding Barry, not letting him out of their sight, and locking the bathrooms and kitchen drawers when not in use. Barry feels like he’s being babysat, causing him to lash out at the others. What Barry didn’t know, that Iris does, is that Joe is looking for therapist for him, seeing as being the Flash and other things have caused his breakdown. She knew that he wouldn’t be happy, but he needed professional help that they couldn’t provide him.   
With the blender finished, Iris scourged for two glasses and poured the smoothie in them, giving the larger one to Barry. Frowning at her, Barry hesitantly takes a sip, watching her every move. She nods at him encouragingly, drinking her own. Taking note, Barry keeps drinking, faster as time carries on. He’s done before she’s halfway through, looking shocked and panicked. Iris quickly finishes hers, guiding Barry back into the lounge room. Setting up Harry Potter, blankets are thrown about the area, and a fort is created within a second. Laughing at him, Iris joins Barry in his constructed blanket fort, snuggling up to him waiting for the movie to begin.   
Barry falls asleep halfway through the second movie, little snores being emitted from him. Iris has to fight the urge to coo at him, instead taking a picture and sending it to Oliver, smiling at the sleeping speedster. She was glad he was finally sleeping, having been up for the past four days in regards to something only he knew. Patting his hair, she texts her dad, Wally and Eddie to come over, both having finished their shifts and stopping off to get McDonalds for themselves. Wally was studying at a friend’s house, and was getting a lift from his father and future brother-in-law. The West’s carefully treaded their way through the house, followed by Iris’ fiancé. Looking at them, Joe snickers to himself while Eddie takes out his phone and starts taking pictures. Iris makes silly faces, causing Wally to laugh, and Joe to laugh harder.   
The two detectives and Wally join them on the floor, being careful not to disturb the young hero. Laying down, all five of them continue to watch the British movies. During the fourth film, Barry starts to get restless, rolling and shaking in his sleep. The four allow him to do so, until he starts screaming. The yells shock them, Eddie jumping out of the way as an arm is swung at him. Barry screams even louder as Joe tries to hold him down, electricity free-flowing over his body and slightly burning Joe’s hands. Kneeling around his thrashing body, the trio look at each other stunned. Panicked, Iris slaps him across the face, as soft as she could. Immediately, the speedster jumps up and runs towards the other side of the room, sparks flying. Guilt floods Iris as she takes in the haggard appearance of her foster brother, with the red mark contrasting his pale sweaty face.   
After facing through the house, Barry finds the bathroom doors and drawers to still be locked, and resolves in digging his nails into his arms. Ignoring the protests, Barry finds himself outside where the cold digs in through the thin layer of clothes. Iris and Joe join him, Eddie fumbling in the kitchen to make hot chocolate with the noise echoing the silent house. The pulse in his cheek fades as the slap quickly heals, leaving unblemished skin. Barry wishes for more, wishes for the pain to come back since the only pain he was feeling was emotional. But with the four surrounding him, hot chocolate steaming in his hand, maybe the emotions he was feeling were not all bad.


	2. Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry has a panic attack at work, and Captain David Singh is there to save the day, multiple times.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in a day! Enjoy the new story, with lots of love, and fluff (always a tiny bit of angst, not a lot though)

Looking on the crime scene, Barry nearly gagged. He had seen crime scenes upon crime scenes, bodies upon bodies, but none had set him up for what was in front of him. The young girl laid in her bed, looking angelic-like, with her golden hair and peaceful face, if not for the bloodstained wrists and soaked bedsheets beneath her. She wouldn’t have been older than twelve, and she’d slit her own wrists. Barry’s hands shake as he examines the room, even if it was suicide there had to be a cause. The broken toys and stained underwear gives Barry a clear indication of what happened, and he leaves the evidence with an assistant CSI before racing back to the precinct.   
Once there, Barry collapsed into his chair head clutched in his hands. His first scene back at work, and he couldn’t handle it. How was he supposed to work if he was going to act like this?! Struggling to breathe, the world becomes fainter and fainter before calloused hands shock him as they grasp his face. Fighting against him, he only calms down once he recognises Captain Singh’s voice through the haze. Blinking harshly, Barry sees his bosses face fill with concern as David takes in the speedster and the sparking computers on the desks. Ignoring the technology, Singh pays attention to the young man in front of him, photos scattered on the desk. Heavily sighing, David flicks through them, taking in the case he explicitly told everyone he didn’t want Barry working on, but Director Southworth had defied him yet again.   
Moving the evidence aside, Captain Singh sits on the desk and looks at Barry, really looks at him. It had been two weeks since he had last seen the kid, and he looks like absolute crap. Knowing Barry already knew that, David opts not to tell him that and instead talks about Rob. Barry seems surprised that Singh was talking to him for once, not scolding or yelling, but talking. Rob was still up to his healthy shenanigans, leading to David ordering Big Belly Burger other parts of the city. He mentioned that he was crazy some, with a poof of air signalling Barry’s disappearance and reappearance with a bag of fast food. Taking note of the lack of food on the speedster’s behalf, David splits his meal into two, sharing it with Barry.   
The two eat as Barry works on fixing his computer, leaving the other for Julian to fix himself. Now quiet, David watches Barry work with intensity, analysing and examining the objects found at Julie’s room. Julie, who Barry believes was raped by her father and stepmother, and took her own life. David knew the work that the CSI’s did, including Barry, and how harsh this case was to a normal CSI, let alone Barry. Diligently, the younger man gets everything wrapped together within hours and the parents are arrested without hesitation.   
Captain Singh sits with Barry all day, ordering files that needed to be signed to be delivered to the lab. The officers give him strange looks, and some half snarl at Barry, but he continues to sit near the speedster as both sign off their paperwork, and more cases are closed. Ever since Barry was revealed as the Flash, the people of the CCPD had been conflicted, half supporting his actions while half condemned him for being a metahuman. There had been a protest at one point at allowing metahumans to work in jobs like the police service, which was quickly shot down by Captain Singh. The speedster of course had no idea that the event had happened, and David was adamant that it stayed that way. Barry at one points, attempts to politely bat David away, only for him to come closer and watch Barry work. It was quite impressive watching the younger man work, writing, doing and saying things that David frankly didn’t understand. The speedster was prone to talking out loud, a side habit from having the lab to himself for so long, so everything that needed to be written down was recorded prior to the actual writing.   
Time travelled slowly as they continued working, sometimes in silence, sometimes with Singh’s stories being told to a quiet audience. The day crawled slowly towards the end for Barry, quietly thanking David and quickly leaving the precinct. David overlooks the bright trail of lightning that flashed over the city. Collecting his work, David goes back down to his office, hoping that the day had somewhat eased Barry. Going down, David finds chaos.   
Chairs are overturned, shots firing into walls and desks, and citizens screaming and running about. Four gunmen stand at the centre of the room, shooting at officers and people alike. A sudden blur knocks a masked man off of his feet, the twisting of a hand giving the gun to the hero. The trio turn on Barry, forming a triangle and taking hostages. Giving the firearm to a detective, the next bullets shot end up on the ground, with one in a perpetrators arm from David. The man yells, running at Barry before he’s knocked to the ground, head slamming against the tiles. The injured man is handcuffed to a chair, and the other two are quickly taken care of by the other detectives. The officer treating the shot man practically hisses at Barry as he approaches them to pass by, curses spilling from his lips. Barry ignored him, racing out of the precinct, not before hearing Captain Singh start yelling at his co-worker.   
Listening to Singh confront the officer gave small comfort to Barry, who knew of the prejudice the precinct had against metahumans. Knowing that David supported him, even after everything that the Flash and the metahumans had put the CCPD had been through. He was grateful towards David for staying beside him as he suffered through his panic attack, and prevented him from doing something much worse. The man was too kind towards Barry and his useless ways. Slowly, Barry begins to think that the things he was experiencing weren’t the worst, and not everyone thought of him the same way he did.


	3. Relationships

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A cute moment between our favourite boys for Barry's birthday, and a surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter! If people want more for this work, there can, but I'll start working on the next one. I hope you enjoy! The song quoted at the end is Sleep Song by Secret Garden.

Barry curls himself in the blankets, soaking in the warmth of the bed. Oliver stands at the foot of the bed, arms crossed stubbornly in front of him. Barry ignores him, slowly sinking deeper into the bed. Oliver groans, grabbing a hold of the blankets and yanking them from the speedster. Barry yelps, kicking out to his partner. The archer growls at Barry, grabbing the offending appendage and dragging the younger man off of the bed. The speedster tumbles onto the floor, landing in a heap. Barry swears at Oliver, only to have the curses thrown back at him. He’s forced into the bathroom, Oliver joining him. Barry almost hisses at him, before catching himself. Oliver was just trying to help. Allowing his boyfriend to help, they got dressed and ready to leave. Oliver had refused to tell Barry where they were going, promoting the speedster to want to stay in bed.  
Gathering the jackets closer, Barry joins Oliver on his bike, grabbing the helmet and shoving it unceremoniously on his head. Silently laughing at the pouting man, Oliver lets Barry wrap his arms around his torso, the heavy helmet dropping on the archer’s back. Oliver knows that the bike’s speed is a snail’s pace compared to Barry’s speed, but to get to where he wanted they needed to go slow. He couldn’t believe that Barry had forgotten his own birthday, but understood with the amount of pressure they were putting on him. Slowly, Barry was getting better, but it is a long process and the younger man was tempted by relapse.  
With the others, Oliver had planned a night out with just the two of them, with Wally taking over Flash duties, and Diggle looking after Star City. Barry was restless on the bike, constantly shifting and kicking the sides. Speeding up slightly, Central City blinks its lights as darkness swallows the sun. Stopping off for a moment, Oliver goes to collect the necessities from the restaurant while Barry stayed at the bike, glaring at Oliver’s back. Setting the food in the compartment behind Barry, they speed off towards a secluded park.  
The park is on the outskirts of Central City, having been semi-deserted after the particle accelerator explosion. Setting the bike on the outer-meadow, Oliver jumps off with the basket, lightly pulling Barry along. Lights shone down as the couple walked towards the centre of the park, where a lake waved at them. Barry gasped when they came to the spot that Oliver had carefully picked, a soft rug with candles around it, a group of presents around it. Tears sprung up in his eyes looking around, and he immediately latches himself onto his boyfriend, sobbing.  
Hugging him, Oliver breathes Barry’s scent, smelling the copper and cinnamon. Just a few months ago Barry was on the verge of death, but was there at the park celebrating his birthday. Oliver cry’s a few tears before stopping, and leads Barry. Opening up the basket, Oliver sets up Barry’s favourite meal from his favourite restaurant. Grinning up at Oliver, Barry quickly digs into the meal, sharing his favourites with Oliver. Oliver smiles, relishing the moment that Barry was actually eating and enjoying himself.  
Drinking wine, the two enjoy the cake, Barry laughing at the Flash character on the front of the cake. The speedster steals cream off of Oliver’s plate, smirking as the archer fights his fork. After the cake, Oliver breaks out the whiskey, filling the wine glasses to the brim. Barry’s presents are handed to him, ones from Diggle and Lyla, Felicity, the rest of Team Arrow, Team Flash and some of the CCPD. The West family were due to come pack to Central City the following day from Keystone City, ready to supply Barry with tons of presents. Barry loves every single present, until Oliver gives him one. Wrapping the younger man in the red quilt, Oliver calms himself down before kneeling down on one knee. Grasping Barry’s hands, the archer asks Barry to marry him. Tears running down his face, Barry kisses Oliver. That’s all the answer Oliver needs as he slides the ring onto Barry’s finger.  
Clutching onto each other, Barry laughs as the next song comes onto the portable radio, a soft crooning voice echoing the silence park. Grabbing Oliver’s arms, they sway softly to the music, taking turns of leading each other. Oliver try’s to show-off with fancy footwork, only to fall over as the whiskey and wine cause the older man to become tipsy. Laughing harder, the archer stumbles around trying to get his footing before finally giving up, landing in a heap on the blankets. Swaddling Oliver up, Barry grabs his gifts and his boyfriend, fiancé, and runs back home. Setting everything into his corner of the room, he carries his sleepy partner to bed. Humming slightly, Barry smiles at the tired archer fumbling his way through the covers and snuggles against the many pillows piled up on the soft covers. Shrugging out of his clothes, Barry joins him seconds later.  
Barry awakens to loud groans and a heavy body thumping on the bed. Turning, Oliver shrieks in his sleep and fights against invisible foes, pain evident in his features and loud words yelled out. Barry immediately gets out of the bed, used to the terrors that invaded Oliver’s sleep, just like the archer is for the speedster. Settling next to the sleeping man, Barry cautiously runs a hand through the sweat-soaked hair, gently scratching a soft spot. Slowly, Oliver calms down in his sleep, tears silently falling. Going back underneath the blankets, Barry cradles Oliver to his chest, rocking them back and forth like his mother used to do when he was a boy.  
Thinking about Nora, Barry latches onto an idea, a soft lullaby he remembers her singing to him. Making sure that Oliver was calm enough, he gets into the tune and sings. For what seemed an age, Barry sings until he faintly sees the soft curves, and he too falls into a heavy sleep.  
“And I’ll sing you to sleep and I’ll sing you tomorrow,  
Bless you with love for the road that you go…  
May you find kindness in all that you meet,  
May there always be angels to watch over you…”


End file.
